Film ● Review: Dark Star

Very Average Joe
Dec 8
2 min read

Title: Dark Star

Director(s): John Carpenter

Screenwriter(s): John Carpenter & Dan O’Bannon

Studio: USC & Jack H. Harris

Released: 1974

Runtime: 1h 20m

Starring: Brian Narelle, Dan O’Bannon, Cal Kuniholm, Andreijah Pahich, Joe Saunders, Barbara Knapp

My Verdict: Low-budget indie film notwithstanding, the film is decently produced. The satirical ideas are there but not enough laughs.

● Dark Star is a relatively low-budget indie sci-fi comedy that was the debut for John Carpenter and Dan O’Bannon. It was initially a student film that started in 1970. It was eventually finished and released in 1974.

● The plot follows the titular ship on its long-term mission to destroy “unstable planets” that threaten humanity’s effort to colonize space using “Thermostellar Triggering Devices” which are basically A.I. bombs. The ship is also run by A.I. voiced by Barbara Knapp.

● At the beginning of the film, it is already 20 years into the mission. Due to time dilation, the crew has only aged three years. Commander Powell had recently died, and both the ship and the morale of the remaining four men are hardly good.

● As a satire, the ideas are there but the execution as a comedy mostly falls flat. For example, the ship has practically no support from Earth due to politics, one crew member alleviates boredom by firing his blaster in a corridor, and another keeps a “beach ball” alien, and the bridge is unnecessarily cramped.

● The film is obviously inspired by and is in part a comical take on 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Most of the narrative is the ship degrading, Pinback (Dan O’Bannon) dealing with the escaped beach ball alien and one of the A.I. bombs threatening to go rogue.

● One can see that some of the ideas are subsequently used in Alien (1979) which Dan O’Bannon co-wrote. Pinback hunting the beach ball alien in the ship as if he is the only crew member left is one. Even some of the interior design like computer terminals bear some resemblance. Although it looks different, the existence of a computer room that houses the ship’s A.I. is another idea used in Alien.

● Visually, it is shot and edited well. Shots are held longer, at least by today’s standards, including some minor camera movement/shifting to keep it interesting.

● Low-budget indie film notwithstanding, the film is decently produced. The narrative can be tightened a little to improve pacing. Otherwise, the main letdown is that the satire and comedy don’t hit as hard as they are meant to. The ideas are there and there are a few laughs but not enough.